1 Indian dead, 2 injured in firing by Nepal police near border in Bihar

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 12

At least one Indian was killed and two others were injured after Nepal police fired indiscriminately at them on the border near Sitamarhi district of Bihar on Friday, senior officials in the security set-up said.

Meanwhile, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Director-General Kumar Rajesh Chandra today said the incident of firing was purely local, as it happened after altercation between people residing in the bordering area and the Nepal Border Police.

The Director-General (DG) also contended that the firing took place deep inside the Nepalese territory and there was nothing to be alarmed about it, as a preliminary report had been sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the incident.

Chandra said that as per the reports coming from ground zero, the unfortunate incident was “purely local and triggered by an altercation between residents of the bordering village Janaki Nagar on India side and personnel of Nepal’s border guarding police force this morning.

“A woman, who has been married into a family of Janaki Nagar, was coming to her in-laws place along with some relatives from the Nepalese side. Since a COVID protocol is still in force in Nepal, the police asked them to disperse immediately, which led to an altercation between the locals of Janaki Nagar and the neighbouring country police,” he said, adding that the villagers also rang their relative in Janaki Nagar village and they also reached the spot.

“As per the Nepal police, around 15 rounds were fired, 10 in the air and five on the people, killing an Indian and injuring three others. The firing was carried out to disperse the crowd which had assembled in Nepal’s area from the Indian side,” the SSB D-G said, adding that a detailed report is awaited from Bihar.

The unfortunate incident took place at the Lalbandi-Janki Nagar border in Pipra Parsain panchayat under Sonebarsha police station of the Sitamarhi district of Bihar, officials in the SSB said.

The deceased person has been identified as Vikesh Yadav (22), who suffered a bullet injury in the abdomen area, while Uday Thakur (24) and Umesh Ram (18) are injured and admitted to a private hospital in Sitamarhi, which is around 125 kilometers from Bihar capital Patna, the officials said, adding that an Indian national, Laagan Yadav (45), has been taken into custody by the Nepal border police.

According to reports, even on May 17, Nepal police had fired blank rounds to disperse dozens of Indians trying to cross the border. It was not clear if they were farmers.

Nepal shares a 1,850-km open border with India and people travel across it for work and to visit family. It had closed its international borders on March 22 amid the coronavirus pandemic.